Pavlos Voskopoulos
Encyclopedia
Pavlos "Pavle" Filipov Voskopoulos , (born 25 November, 1964, Florina
, Greece
) is a member of the collective leadership (Political Secretariat) of the Rainbow
, a political party that claims to represent the ethnic Macedonian
minority in Greece
.
, Yugoslavia
. In 1989 he helped to found the Macedonian Movement for Balkan Prosperity (MAKIVE) which was based in Aridaia
, along with four others; Dimitris Papadimitrou, Traianos Pasois, Kostas Tasopoulos and Petros Dimtsis. MAKIVE never participated in any elections. His first cousin Ioannis Voskopoulos is the elected Administrator of Florina prefecture
and has a strong Greek Identity.
. The party opened its first office in the Greek city of Florina
on the 6th of September 1995. On the 14th of September he, along with three other members of the Rainbow Party
were charged with "having caused and incited mutual hatred among the citizens" by the local Florina court. Soon organisations such as Amnesty International came to the support of the members of the Rainbow Party, claiming that they would become "prisoners of conscience" if they were to be jailed for the offence. He has been one of the leading figures behind the Rainbow Party.
. He has also been a prominent figure in both Greek Macedonian media and media within the Republic of Macedonia. He has also attracted criticism from within Greece due to his identification as being "politically Macedonia" as well as for representing the "ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece", which is not recognised in Greece.
Florina
Florina is a town and municipality in mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. It is also the Metropolitan seat for the region. It lies in the central part of Florina peripheral unit, of which it is the capital. Florina belongs to the periphery of West...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
) is a member of the collective leadership (Political Secretariat) of the Rainbow
Rainbow (political party)
The Rainbow is a political party in Greece, and a member of the European Free Alliance. It is known for its activism amongst what it regards as the Ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece and their descendants abroad...
, a political party that claims to represent the ethnic Macedonian
Macedonians (ethnic group)
The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
minority in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Early history
He was born in Florina, Greece in 1964. In 1988 he finished an Architect's degree in BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
. In 1989 he helped to found the Macedonian Movement for Balkan Prosperity (MAKIVE) which was based in Aridaia
Aridaia
Aridaía is a town and a former municipality in the Pella regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Almopia, of which it is a municipal unit. It was the capital of the former Almopia eparchy...
, along with four others; Dimitris Papadimitrou, Traianos Pasois, Kostas Tasopoulos and Petros Dimtsis. MAKIVE never participated in any elections. His first cousin Ioannis Voskopoulos is the elected Administrator of Florina prefecture
Florina Prefecture
Florina is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Macedonia. Its capital is the town of Florina.-Geography:Florina borders the regional units of Pella to the east, Kozani to the south and Kastoriá to the southwest...
and has a strong Greek Identity.
Rainbow party
In 1994 he helped to found the Rainbow PartyRainbow (political party)
The Rainbow is a political party in Greece, and a member of the European Free Alliance. It is known for its activism amongst what it regards as the Ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece and their descendants abroad...
. The party opened its first office in the Greek city of Florina
Florina
Florina is a town and municipality in mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. It is also the Metropolitan seat for the region. It lies in the central part of Florina peripheral unit, of which it is the capital. Florina belongs to the periphery of West...
on the 6th of September 1995. On the 14th of September he, along with three other members of the Rainbow Party
Rainbow (political party)
The Rainbow is a political party in Greece, and a member of the European Free Alliance. It is known for its activism amongst what it regards as the Ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece and their descendants abroad...
were charged with "having caused and incited mutual hatred among the citizens" by the local Florina court. Soon organisations such as Amnesty International came to the support of the members of the Rainbow Party, claiming that they would become "prisoners of conscience" if they were to be jailed for the offence. He has been one of the leading figures behind the Rainbow Party.
Public Appearances
He has made numerous media appearance on Greek talkshows most notably on the Mega ChannelMega Channel
Mega Channel, also known as Mega TV or just Mega, is a major television network in Greece. Teletypos S.A. was founded in 1989 under the name Teletypos Television Programmes S.A...
. He has also been a prominent figure in both Greek Macedonian media and media within the Republic of Macedonia. He has also attracted criticism from within Greece due to his identification as being "politically Macedonia" as well as for representing the "ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece", which is not recognised in Greece.
See also
- Rainbow partyRainbow (political party)The Rainbow is a political party in Greece, and a member of the European Free Alliance. It is known for its activism amongst what it regards as the Ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece and their descendants abroad...
- Aegean MacedoniansAegean MacedoniansSlavic speakers are a linguistic minority population in the northern Greek region of Macedonia who are mostly concentrated in certain parts of the peripheries of West and Central Macedonia, adjacent to the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. A smaller group exists in East Macedonia adjacent to...